Royal Navy's Carrier Strike Group forms up for first time with HMS Queen Elizabeth

[Gerald]

The Royal Navy’s new Carrier Strike Group has assembled for the first time, marking the beginning of a new era of operations. HMS Queen Elizabeth is at the centre of the group which is the start of joint carrier operations between the navy and its NATO allies. Nine ships, 15 fighter jets, 11 helicopters and 3,000 personnel from the UK, US and the Netherlands are now carrying out exercises in the North Sea.

[Aktungbby]

why only 15 fighter jets? She's rated a full complement of 35+(surge deployment) fighters: F-35 B Lightning II fighters....anything less does not send
a proper message to the ever-nosey Russians

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

why only 15 fighter jets? She's rated a full complement of 35+(surge deployment) fighters: F-35 B Lightning II fighters....anything less does not send
a proper message to the ever-nosey Russians

Precisely!!

[Kapitan]

We haven't received the full compliment of F35B yet they are still being built, also they are augmenting the aircraft with USMC F35B (5 are FAA and 10 are USMC) for cross deck training right now which is taking the numbers up for carrier qualified pilots, we also have rotary aircraft on board.

This group is an exercise within the JW2020 to test the interoperability between the UK and NATO specifically the USN.

[Aktungbby]

I was aware of the ongoing problem but it still sends a poor message to the ruskies https://nationalinterest.org/blog/bu...fighters-88766

The first batch of forty-eight F-35s, which began arriving this year and will run through 2025, are scheduled to be the F-35B, the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant. STOVL aircraft can operate off the short decks of “ski-jump” carriers like Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth-class vessels, and then land vertically. This makes these ships smaller and cheaper than American-style carriers with their long flight decks, catapults and arresting gear for conventional aircraft launch and recovery.

"This will completely undermine…the whole carrier program," one source told Sky News. “There is no operational reason whatsoever for the RAF to have the ‘A’ [land-based] variant. If it can't fly from an aircraft carrier, it shouldn't be purchased." Interestingly, the Royal Navy argues that buying more land-based and fewer carrier-based F-35s will anger the Americans. “The United States regard the Royal Navy as the one and only peer navy able to operate aircraft carriers,” one naval source said.

With inimitable British wit, he added, “Aircraft carriers need to be able to operate with combat aircraft. The clue is in the name.” The RAF and the Ministry of Defense deny a plot to snatch the Royal Navy’s F-35s. But whether or not the reports are true, or just the usual interservice rivalry and suspicion, they illuminate the problem that Britain faces. Most of the thirteen nations that are part of the F-35 program, such as Israel, South Korea and most recently Belgium, are land powers. They only need to buy land-based F-35s for their air forces.

Even if the Royal Navy is only a shadow of its former imperial glory, Britain still aspires to remain a naval power. Britain—as well as Japan—are building a small force of carriers or carrier-like vessels, which require the naval F-35B (which can also operate from land) as well as F-35As. For the United States, that’s not such a dilemma: even with the F-35 costing almost $100 million apiece, the United States can afford to equip the U.S. Air Force with the F-35A, the U.S. Navy with the naval F-35C, and even the U.S. Marine Corps with the F-35B. Thus the United States can operate three different F-35 fleets that are similar but not identical in capabilities and logistics. But that’s not so easy for Britain, which already is US$7 billion short of the cash it needs to buy all the items on its 10-year military procurement plan, which calls for new submarines and armored vehicles, as well as aircraft carriers and F-35 jets.

Bottom line; they should load up with a 'borrowed' US or NATO squadron that can use the practise also, thus demonstrating both interoperability as you put it, and sending the critical at full 'surge' capacity message to the Russians. A carrier group sorty is expensive to a cash strapped military to begin with....best to do it right!

[Kapitan]

Well the JW2020 is to test the practice and theory behind the QE concept, this is almost like a dress rehearsal for deployment to the South China Sea, the reality is if I recall only the UK Italy and Spain that will operate the F35B and the UK doesn't work with them as much as we do with the USN (USMC), KoninKlijke Marine or Marine National.

What JW will be doing in this instance will be certifying the carrier fit for operations I have no doubt there is a FOST crew on her assessing the crew, they don't require a full airwing compliment to do this and the main thing is the airwing will only consist of around 35 in normal operations, up to 65 in war time.

With the surge force that will be between the European forces not just the USMC but agreed we could deploy with other forces mainly USMC, should we have done so on this exercise, no I don't think so this is more to test the carrier systems and crew operations not the flying.

As for being cash strapped not really the UK's RN is quite well funded, yes we have cut some corners but in terms of cash strapped totally disagree the amount of operations and commitments we have around the world shows one thing the RN isn't lack is money.